Hawaii's Kilauea volcano eruption

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In summary, volcanic activity has slowed down in the Leilani Estates area with eight fissures open, but officials say it is not over yet. Kilauea volcano has been erupting since 1983 and has a current eruption rate of 250,000-650,000 cubic yards per day. The total amount of lava erupted since the current eruption began is over 1,400 million cubic meters.
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  • #2
Some amazing photos!

180504034247-bt106-hawaii-volcano-05042018-exlarge-169.jpg
 

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  • #3
I find it odd that they allowed housing developments to be built upon 200 year old lava fields.

theyll.let.people.build.anywhere.in.hawaii.png


Talk about "caveat emptor"!
 

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  • #4

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  • #6
OmCheeto said:
I find it odd that they allowed housing developments to be built upon 200 year old lava fields.

I have visited that area. An aunt in law lives there.
That whole area has many housing area among fields.
There are other much more recently lava'ed (lava inundated) areas nearby.
 
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  • #7
  • #8
Well, my timing could have been better. We are scheduled to arrive on the big island two weeks from today. (Trip planned and booked months ago.)
 
  • #9
Janus said:
Well, my timing could have been better. We are scheduled to arrive on the big island two weeks from today. (Trip planned and booked months ago.)
Can you get a refund, or maybe change to a different island?
 
  • #10
berkeman said:
Can you get a refund, or maybe change to a different island?
It's the 2nd island of a two island trip, Maui for 5 nights and 5 nights in Kona. This means that the return flight is booked out of Kona. I'd really rather not have to cut the trip short and rebook out of Maui at this late date. At least we will be on the other side of the island.
I think we will play it by ear. If things really do go sour while we are in Maui and we end up not being able to get to Kona, at least I had the foresight to get travel insurance on the total cost of the trip.
 
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  • #11
Janus said:
Well, my timing could have been better. We are scheduled to arrive on the big island two weeks from today. (Trip planned and booked months ago.)

berkeman said:
Can you get a refund, or maybe change to a different island?

why ?? ...
gosh what an awesome time to be there !, I am jealous, I don't get to the "big island" till mid August and the
activity is likely to have died down by them :frown:

If I could, I would already be on a plane to Hawaii to photo and video all the action from the volcano
the eruption is in a reasonably confined region on the SE side of the island. The volcanoes there don't produce huge ash clouds as with volcanoes like Mt St Helens etc because of the very different makeup of the erupted material ... Hawaii volcanoes are pretty much pure basaltic.

Make the most of it, Janus, you are very fortunate !
spend the buck on helicopter trips over and around the volcano area and I expect to see lots of photos from you ! that's an order Mr. ! :wink::wink::-p:biggrin:

Dave
 
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  • #12
OmCheeto said:
Then again, I may not know how they define "Kilauea".

well, it is pretty much "always" active. there is very few times when lava isn't flowing out to the coast over the last 30+ years since
the major eruption of 1983
There's just times when it is REALLY active as in the last several days

My last trip there was in April 1999 ...

dave_lava1.jpg
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lava01.jpg
plume3.jpg
Dave
 

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  • #13
davenn said:
why ?? ...
gosh what an awesome time to be there !, I am jealous, I don't get to the "big island" till mid August and the
activity is likely to have died down by them :frown:

If I could, I would already be on a plane to Hawaii to photo and video all the action from the volcano
the eruption is in a reasonably confined region on the SE side of the island. The volcanoes there don't produce huge ash clouds as with volcanoes like Mt St Helens etc because of the very different makeup of the erupted material ... Hawaii volcanoes are pretty much pure basaltic.

Make the most of it, Janus, you are very fortunate !
spend the buck on helicopter trips over and around the volcano area and I expect to see lots of photos from you ! that's an order Mr. ! :wink::wink::-p:biggrin:

Dave

Well, there's active and there's ACTIVE. Too much activity and you probably would not be able to get close enough to see anything. The last I heard they had closed the Hawaii Volcanoes Nat. Park for safety reasons.
 
  • #14
Janus said:
Well, there's active and there's ACTIVE. Too much activity and you probably would not be able to get close enough to see anything.
that's why I said helicopters :smile:

If it is still active when I get there, I will be spending big on helicopter flight(s)Wife and I booked our trip there around 3 weeks ago

Dave
 
  • #15
Eight fissures open now at Leilani Estates.

Volcanic activity settles for now, officials say, but it's not over
Updated: Saturday, May 5th 2018, 9:39 pm PDT

PUNA, BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) -
As evening fell Saturday, Hawaii County officials said volcanic activity has slowed, but it is not over yet.
Hawaii County Civil Defense says there are eight open fissures with no new fissures emerging since early Saturday.

I finally figured out why I was confused about what "Kilauea" meant.
It's a region.
Location_Kilauea.png

Where I live, volcanoes are distinct features, with one hole in the middle.

Really interesting stuff on the FAQ at the Natl Park Service:
  • Kilauea has been erupting since 1983
  • The current eruption rate of Kilauea volcano is 250,000-650,000 cubic yards/day (200,000-500,000 cubic meters/day).
  • Since the start of the current Kilauea eruption more than 1,400 million cubic meters of lava have been erupted. Mount St. Helens erupted 1 cubic kilometer of ash (about 10 times greater than the current Kilauea eruption).

That last one is probably why I'm most confused. Mount St. Helens is only 50 miles from my house, and I stay the hell away from it.
Per wiki; "Approximately fifty-seven people were killed directly from the blast and 200 houses, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed... More than 4,000,000,000 board feet (9,400,000 m3) of timber was damaged or destroyed, mainly by the lateral blast."

I think most of the damage happened in less than a hour, while Kilauea's been doing this for 35 years.
It's no wonder people are living in lava flows: "Between 1986 and 1991, Chain of Craters Road was cut, and the community of Kapa’ahu, the village of Kalapana, and the subdivisions of Kālapana Gardens and Royal Gardens were lost to the lava."

I was flabbergasted when I zoomed in on what I thought would be the ghost town of Kalapana, only to find dozens of homes there!
But it's starting to make sense now.
 

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  • #16
OmCheeto said:
Since the start of the current Kilauea eruption more than 1,400 million cubic meters of lava have been erupted. Mount St. Helens erupted 1 cubic kilometer of ash (about 10 times greater than the current Kilauea eruption).
I'm reading this and thinking ... is this correct maths ??

Now I don't claim to be great at math, so please correct me when needed :biggrin: :rolleyes:

1,400 million cubic metres = 1 billion 400 million (1,400,000,000 ) yes ? ( 1 billion = 1000 million)

= 1.4 billion cubic metres of material

1 cubic km = 1000m x 1000m x 1000m ... that is a cube , 1000 metres on each side

1000 x 1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000,000 ( 1 billion) ( Mt St Helens)

Kilauea has erupted = 1.4 billion cubic metres or 1.4 cubic km

hope I have done that correctly ?If that is all correct then where does the 10 times more material from St Helens come from (maths wise )??Dave
 
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  • #17
davenn said:
I'm reading this and thinking ... is this correct maths ??

Now I don't claim to be great at math, so please correct me when needed :biggrin: :rolleyes:

...

I also noticed that, and so don't think you are that bad at maths.
I averaged their "200,000-500,000 cubic meters/day" comment, multiplied it by 35 years, and came up with 4.5 km^3.
This number is pretty close to what both wiki and the USGS said: 4 km^3(as of 2012) and 4.4 km^3, respectively.

Numbers for St. Helens were similar:
4.2 km^3 per wiki
2.5 km^3 [avalanche only] per the USGS
. Guessing the ash accounts for the rest of the volume.​

Perhaps we shouldn't take anything coming out of Hawaii as a "valid reference"
  1. Their volcanoes are flat
  2. 4 ≈ 10 x 4
  3. They measure distance in acres [see below]
From my Twitter feed this morning:

Allyson Blair
[Emmy award winner living in Honolulu]
‏Verified account @AllysonBlairTV
17 hours ago

#BREAKING This is video just into our newsroom. It was shot 5 acres in on Makamae St. on the Kalapana side. #Kilauea
[video]
[ref]​
 
  • #18
OmCheeto said:
I also noticed that, and so don't think you are that bad at maths.
I averaged their "200,000-500,000 cubic meters/day" comment, multiplied it by 35 years, and came up with 4.5 km^3.
This number is pretty close to what both wiki and the USGS said: 4 km^3(as of 2012) and 4.4 km^3, respectively.

Numbers for St. Helens were similar:
4.2 km^3 per wiki
2.5 km^3 [avalanche only] per the USGS
. Guessing the ash accounts for the rest of the volume.​

Perhaps we shouldn't take anything coming out of Hawaii as a "valid reference"
  1. Their volcanoes are flat
Er, no. Its just that the vast majority of it is below sea level and it is only the top that is sticking out. Mauna Kea is 33,000 ft above the ocean floor. At sea level you are still some 19,000 ft above the base.
 
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  • #19
Glad I'm not the only one whose mind went a little berzerk with this:

From the UK; "'CURTAIN OF FIRE' Horror as Kilauea volcano in Hawaii spews lava 150ft in the air, cracks streets and torches forests forcing 10,000 people to flee"

Compared to my interpretation of someone living there:

Kalapana Lava Refuge
Moved to Kalapana, from Alaska, back in '82.
Bought some land, planted some stuff.
Lava destroyed a lot of it, so I moved to California.
Then I moved back.
Come visit!
Only $100 per night.

I was last in Hawaii in 1980, on the island of Oahu, and stayed for about 2.5 months. I think that was before all this "perma-volcano" stuff started happening. Hence, why I didn't bother to go visit.
 
  • #20
Janus said:
Er, no. Its just that the vast majority of it is below sea level and it is only the top that is sticking out. Mauna Kea is 33,000 ft above the ocean floor. At sea level you are still some 19,000 ft above the base.
I was trying to be "funny"...

I've also been trying to digitize what's going on, but things are a bit too dynamic at the moment.
google.earth.vs.usgs.png


And what are negative depths all about?

usgs.negative.earthquake.depths.png


Do earthquakeologists measure depth from sea level?
 

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  • #21
OmCheeto said:
Do earthquakeologists measure depth from sea level?
no, not usually

just yet another inconsistency in the data :rolleyes:
 
  • #22
So sad.
 
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  • #23
OmCheeto said:
Their volcanoes are flat

I'm old, and therefore biased.

2018.05.06.1430.HST.LAVA.png
 

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  • #24
Actually the negative numbers mean Above Sea Level. Since this is a volcano, and it is not plate tectonics at work, which is almost always deep in the ground where the 'break' occurs, in a volcano the 'Breaks' can be cooled lava being cracked from contact with fresher, hotter lava and pressure. This can lead to aftershocks as the lava encounters water pockets and get steam explosions, but much of it is the pressurized lava forcing it's way through weakened cracks, and any new EQ can create the beginnings of a new one. Kilauea has been on ongoing thing, with land forming and dropping off in chunks along the edge and occasional breakthroughs like we have ongoing now, and these are just Little rifts along a deeper lava river. However, much of this is happening around and above sea level. One can see the same thing in the Himalayas at times, although even there the quakes are usually triggered Deep, once in a while there is a lesser break higher up such as peak collapses and the like with the landslide often causing nearly as much of a signal
 
  • #25
OmCheeto said:
I find it odd that they allowed housing developments to be built upon 200 year old lava fields.

View attachment 225136

Talk about "caveat emptor"!
Ditto, homes built on flood plains.
 
  • #26
Janus said:
Well, my timing could have been better. We are scheduled to arrive on the big island two weeks from today. (Trip planned and booked months ago.)

A former coworker just flew over to Hawaii on Friday (May 4) so I texted her after I heard the news, asked her if she was on the big island. She replied they were, but said they were on the other side and not affected at all by this, but they have been hitting a lot of overcast weather. Which I suppose may or may not have anything to do with the eruption..
 
  • #27
Janus said:
Well, my timing could have been better. We are scheduled to arrive on the big island two weeks from today. (Trip planned and booked months ago.)
You can still have a great visit to the Big Island unless you booked a room in lower Puna. As far as I know, you can still visit the Kilaeua caldera, and the HVO is still open. You can visit Mauna Kea. Snorkeling is still good except near the ocean entries of the lava. The lava is not scary unless it's encroaching on your house or person.
 
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  • #28
OmCheeto said:
I find it odd that they allowed housing developments to be built upon 200 year old lava fields.

View attachment 225136

Talk about "caveat emptor"!
Yah. My 75-yr-old sis sold everything in Seattle, used all to build home that is now 3 mi. N of erupting fissures. Dream of her life, recognized the hazard, doesn't seem to be regretting her move even today. Insurance not possible. Not boring life! I think even today she regrets the almost unimaginable buckets downpours more than the eruption. But accepting of it all.
 
  • #29
OmCheeto said:
I find it odd that they allowed housing developments to be built upon 200 year old lava fields.

View attachment 225136

Talk about "caveat emptor"!

In and about Houston developers built whole subdivisions in an area that was supposed to be an army corp engineered flood plain. However, at the time it was built the army corp had insufficient funds to buy the whole 50mi tract and instead bought 37mi. Over the years developers began to encroach the area with more and more houses which subsequently got flooded last year.

https://apps.texastribune.org/harvey-reservoirs/

Bottom line: Be careful where you buy your house. Do some digging as far back as you can. Don't trust that the realtor or seller will divulge this information. However, I think the title company should have provided this info.
 
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  • #30
Lee Duke said:
You can still have a great visit to the Big Island unless you booked a room in lower Puna. As far as I know, you can still visit the Kilaeua caldera, and the HVO is still open. You can visit Mauna Kea. Snorkeling is still good except near the ocean entries of the lava. The lava is not scary unless it's encroaching on your house or person.
Since the last time I posted, they have re-opened parts of the Volcanoes National park, so this is good news. No matter what, I'm sure we'll have a good time ( Of the two of us, it's my wife that is the worry-wort).
However, now they are predicting thundershowers in Kona on the day of our arrival, and our flight from Maui is on a Light Cessna, so we might be in for a bumpy ride. Of course, that's still 11 days from now, plenty of time for the forecast to change.
 
  • #31
We were in Hawaii last year (Maui and Kuai'i) and I got very interested in the geology of the chain. The big Island is still being born and is Lihu (sp?) which has many thousands of years before it breaks the surface and becomes the next Hawaiian island. In fact, it seems to take about 800,000 years to make one, then the island goes into a period of weathering, erosion and even collapse. Kuai'i is the oldest at about 8,000,000. It was formed by an initial vast shield volcano (like Haleakala on Maui) and sloughed off about half it's volume back to the sea due to its immense unsupportable bulk, only to be supplanted by a later volcano. The fissure between the lavas of these two distinct volcanoes formed the Waimea Canyon. Only later did the Waimea River carve its way on the bottom.

Maui is the next newest island that was composed of two shield volcanoes. Haleakala is the newest and is still in it's volcanic form, whereas the other is worn away, broken up and appears as a series of very green peaks that were originally just one large cone. (similar formations are found in the San Francisco peaks above Flagstaff, AZ, which was a vast 25,000 foot mountain that blew up like Mt. St. Helens, only worse, and what was left was a huge, jagged caldera that now has it's own name and appearance.

The Pacific Plate passes over the mid-plate hot spot and each island in turn gets its chance to be created, and then move on to leave room for its siblings. So… the Big Island isn't done yet and won't be for probably 200,000 years (wild guess considering how much it is above the water level and the highest elevation on the island). The island chain is sitting in 16,000 feet of water so it's a big deal when the shield volcano is big enough to brake the surface. Haleakala is therefore a 26,000 foot high volcanic mountain. Kuai'i's was probably higher initially (16,000 feet below sea level and 10,000 feet above).

Why I am giving this Hawaii geology lesson (besides wanting to show off what I learned from my book) is that building homes on an island that is still in the process of its birth seems like folly and it may be best to not build any more subdivisions, at least for a couple hundred thousand years. Incidentally, the actual chain is over 1,600 miles long and includes Midway. As the islands move on this "Pacific Conveyor Belt" they eventually end up sub-ducted somewhere in the Aleutians. Long before that, the islands wear away, become coral reefs and atolls and then disappear below the waves. The Hawaiian Islands will return to the magma that created them in about 80,000,000 years. So anybody wanting a long-term real estate investment, should probably look elsewhere.
 
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  • #32
I've been hearing lots of talk on news about the possibility of a steam explosion involving groundwater. I was confused by explanations of the lava lake level dropping down to the water table and generating steam. If the lava lake is already above the water table and fed by a tube, mustn't that feed go through the water?

Looking into it, I found a USGS explanation that described what happened in the 1924 explosion at the site. In brief, the water near the lava column is driven away by the heat. If the lava drops below the water level, water can flow into and become vaporized. If the conduit gets blocked by debris, it can result in a steam explosion.
 
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  • #33
Fewmet said:
I've been hearing lots of talk on news about the possibility of a steam explosion involving groundwater. I was confused by explanations of the lava lake level dropping down to the water table and generating steam. If the lava lake is already above the water table and fed by a tube, mustn't that feed go through the water?

Looking into it, I found a USGS explanation that described what happened in the 1924 explosion at the site. In brief, the water near the lava column is driven away by the heat. If the lava drops below the water level, water can flow into and become vaporized. If the conduit gets blocked by debris, it can result in a steam explosion.
Yes, that is correct.
The other cause you need to also consider is as the magma is forcing its was eastward, through existing and also creating new fissures
and penetrating existing pockets of water which would also create steam explosions.

Dave
 
  • #34
Update

As of the 14th May, a new fissure has opened up further east of the existing fissures.
This is fissure #17 and at some 300m long is larger than the previous ones.
It is showing lava fountaining and some flows away from the fissure

T3TRD3VLXJANNHDCVJXU7X4ZRE.jpg


http%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2018%2F05%2F14%2F08%2F08%2FHawaii-volcano.jpg


Aerial views of the 1,000-foot-long fissure that erupted on Kilauea's east rift zone on Sunday morning near Pahoa, Hawaii. Seventeen fissures have been reported in and around the Leilani Estates neighbourhood. (Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters / Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters)

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hawaii-kilauea-fissure-20180513-story.html

My edit ... Seventeen is the correct number

Dave
 

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  • #35
Well. my flight for Maui leaves in just a few hours. If all goes to plan, I'll arrive on the Big Island on Saturday. If there is a steam/ash explosion while I'm there, that will be the second time in my life of being within 50 miles or so of such an event. (I lived some 40 miles as the crow flies from St. Helens when she blew in '80.) That last one indirectly led to my getting 10 stitches on the top of my head, so let's keep our fingers crossed :nb). If something does happen while I'm there, If possible, I'll post an update. But it will likely be brief. I don't have an unlimited data plan on my phone, and unfortunately my hotel in Kona doesn't have free wi-fi ( and I'm not paying for it).
 
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<h2>1. What caused the eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano?</h2><p>The eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano was caused by a combination of factors, including the movement of the tectonic plates beneath the volcano and the buildup of pressure from the magma chamber below the surface.</p><h2>2. Is the eruption of Kilauea still ongoing?</h2><p>Yes, the eruption of Kilauea is still ongoing. It began on May 3, 2018 and has been continuing with varying levels of activity since then. However, the intensity of the eruption has decreased in recent months.</p><h2>3. How has the eruption affected the surrounding areas?</h2><p>The eruption of Kilauea has had a significant impact on the surrounding areas, including the destruction of over 700 homes and the displacement of thousands of residents. It has also caused major disruptions to the tourism industry and has resulted in the closure of parts of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.</p><h2>4. What types of volcanic activity have been observed during the eruption?</h2><p>During the eruption of Kilauea, a variety of volcanic activity has been observed, including lava flows, explosive eruptions, and the formation of a large crater known as Halemaʻumaʻu. The volcano has also experienced earthquakes and the release of toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide.</p><h2>5. Is it safe to visit Hawaii during the eruption?</h2><p>While the eruption of Kilauea has caused significant damage and disruptions to the surrounding areas, most of Hawaii is still safe for visitors to explore. However, it is important to stay informed about any potential hazards and to follow all safety guidelines and evacuation orders from local authorities.</p>

1. What caused the eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano?

The eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano was caused by a combination of factors, including the movement of the tectonic plates beneath the volcano and the buildup of pressure from the magma chamber below the surface.

2. Is the eruption of Kilauea still ongoing?

Yes, the eruption of Kilauea is still ongoing. It began on May 3, 2018 and has been continuing with varying levels of activity since then. However, the intensity of the eruption has decreased in recent months.

3. How has the eruption affected the surrounding areas?

The eruption of Kilauea has had a significant impact on the surrounding areas, including the destruction of over 700 homes and the displacement of thousands of residents. It has also caused major disruptions to the tourism industry and has resulted in the closure of parts of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

4. What types of volcanic activity have been observed during the eruption?

During the eruption of Kilauea, a variety of volcanic activity has been observed, including lava flows, explosive eruptions, and the formation of a large crater known as Halemaʻumaʻu. The volcano has also experienced earthquakes and the release of toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide.

5. Is it safe to visit Hawaii during the eruption?

While the eruption of Kilauea has caused significant damage and disruptions to the surrounding areas, most of Hawaii is still safe for visitors to explore. However, it is important to stay informed about any potential hazards and to follow all safety guidelines and evacuation orders from local authorities.

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